NAPTIP Decries Use of Social Media to Lure Trafficked Victims

By Adedapo Adesanya The federal government has announced that only 422 of the total 1,411 Nigerian delegates at the ongoing COP28 were funded with taxpayers’ money. This clarification followed the outrage over the size of Nigeria at the conference in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The Minister of Information, Mr Mohammed Idris, disclosed this in a statement on Monday evening amidst concerns by Nigerians about the large number of the country’s delegates at the climate change conference in Dubai. Business Post had reported that Nigeria was joint third with China behind the UAE and Brazil among all the countries

By Adedapo Adesanya Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have uncovered illicit substances bound for Europe, the United Arab Emirates and Asia. Disclosing this in a statement on Sunday, NDLEA spokesman, Mr Femi Babafemi, said the illicit substances intercepted included various quantities of methamphetamine and opioids concealed in hems of new jeans trousers, dolls, buttons, local soap and tins of milo beverage. He noted that the operation was carried out by operatives of the Directorate of Operations and General Investigation (DOGI) at courier houses in Lagos, he said some of the items seized included tramadol 225mg concealed

By Adedapo Adesanya Nigeria has put the presidential aircraft, Falcon 900B, up for sale with the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) asking interested persons to submit their bids for the purchase of the aircraft. It was not disclosed how much the craft would be sold, according to a tweet on the official Nigerian Air Force page on X, formerly known as Twitter, where it said the aircraft was put up for sale following the federal government’s approval. “The Federal Government of Nigeria has approved the sale of Falcon 900B aircraft owned by the Nigerian Air Force (NAF),” NAF said in a

By Modupe Gbadeyanka The Nigerian Army has claimed responsibility for the killing of some villagers of Tudun Biri in Kaduna in an air strike. Reports earlier went viral that operatives of the Nigerian Air Force bombed the villagers during a Maulud celebration but authorities of the air force debunked the reports, saying its men were never involved in such. However, the Nigerian Army has said it was involved in the bombing, which it said was a mistake because it was going after some terrorists in the area. The Kaduna State government, in a statement issued on Monday by its Overseeing

By Modupe Gbadeyanka A partnership will enable customers to receive remittances from anywhere in the world, directly into their Smartcash Payment Service Bank (PSB) has been entered into with Simba Pay Limited, a subsidiary of MFS Africa. A statement from the firm explained that Smartcash customers can instantly receive international funds directly into the account by simply sharing their phone numbers, which also serve as their account numbers. Smartcash PSB, a subsidiary of Airtel Networks Nigeria, was launched in 2022, after obtaining an operating licence by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to provide financial services to unbanked persons in

By Dipo Olowookere The emergency health director at the International Rescue Committee (IRC), Dr Michelle Gayer, has said that despite a quick international response to the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), there is a high risk of spread at the national and regional level. To prevent this from happening, more funding is needed for preparedness efforts in surrounding countries, including Nigeria, to ensure responding teams are ready to act. “Tackling this outbreak is a fight on multiple fronts. Mbandaka is easily connected to Kinshasa and neighbouring countries like Central African Republic. So preparedness work, now, is

By Modupe Gbadeyanka The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has been advised to insert expiry dates in each batch of the redesigned Naira notes to discourage the stockpiling of the banknotes by corrupt politicians and persons with questionable sources of income. Almost a month ago, the CBN Governor, Mr Godwin Emefiele, announced that the current N200, N500, and N1,000 notes would be phased off by January 31, 2023, with the new series of the denominations introduced into the financial system by December 15, 2022. The reason for this policy, according to the apex bank chief, was because it was discovered

By Adedapo Adesanya Nigeria has been re-elected as a council member of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) until 2026, the United Nation’s specialised agency that oversees global telecommunication operations. As a result, Nigeria will serve on the council again from 2022-2026. Nigeria became a member of the union on November 4, 1961. The Nigerian delegation was led to the global event by the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Mr Isa Ali Pantami. Other members of the delegation included the Chairman of the board of Commissioners of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Mr Adeolu Akande; and the Executive Vice Chairman/Chief

By Investors Hub Asian stocks turned in a mixed performance on Tuesday as China’s official manufacturing PMI for October missed economists’ expectations and the Bank of Japan kept its monetary policy steady, as widely expected. An official survey showed China’s manufacturing sector growth softened more than expected in October largely due to weak new orders. The manufacturing PMI fell to 51.6 from 52.4 in September. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index fell 90.65 points or 0.3 percent to 28,245.54, extending losses for a second consecutive session, although China’s Shanghai Composite Index inched up 4.17 points or 0.1 percent to 3,394.50. Japanese

By Adedapo Adesanya The decision of the Borno State to shut down its camps for people displaced by the Boko Haram conflict has pushed over 200,000 people into deeper suffering and destitution, says Human Rights Watch (HRW). In a new report, HRW said Borno State is harming hundreds of thousands of displaced persons already living in precarious conditions to advance a dubious agenda to wean people off humanitarian aid. In the same breath, the group called on the state to stop closing camps until the authorities have had genuine consultations with the camp residents and other key actors and made

By Adedapo Adesanya The Group Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Access Bank, Mr Herbert Wigwe, and the Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Mrs Zainab Ahmed, have emerged winners at the 2020 edition of the African Banker Awards. The award ceremony held virtually on Wednesday was shifted to August to coincide with the African Development Bank (AfDB) Annual Meetings taking place this week, with the election of the president of the bank expected on Thursday. Considered as the Oscars of the African banking community, the big winners this year were Access Bank and women in the banking and finance

The lady suffering from ovarian cancer, Mayowa Ahmed, has been reported dead on Sunday, August 21, 2016. Miss Ahmed reportedly died at a hospital in South Africa. The late Miss Ahmed was flown to South Africa some days ago via an air ambulance for treatment after over N80 million was raised for her treatment. Before she was taken abroad, she had been receiving treatment at LUTH, Lagos. Few weeks ago, before her trip to South Africa, there was a controversy concerning the money raised by members of the public for her treatment. This came after one of the campaigners, Ms